Future Beat: The AI safety dance

In the marketplace of ideas, it’s noisier than ever – not necessarily a bad thing.

From topics such as the climate crisis to growing fears about artificial intelligence, we’re going to need a lot of new thinking to make life on Earth work.

Those ideas might come in the form of global conferences. They also might come in the form of generic press releases. Who knows, they also may spread by word of mouth.

It’s often tough for those ideas and proposals to stand out, and yes, it can be overwhelming for all of us just trying to take it all in and find a solution we like.

The important thing, especially in the face of geopolitical uncertainty that we have rarely before witnessed, is that we keep talking and that the noise keeps reverberating.

Because quite frankly, if the noise turns to silence, and if the silence turns to apathy, then the future might be every bit as worrisome as some predict.

From this week's AI Safety Summit to the upcoming Cop28 climate conference, here’s to hoping that the conversations never stop, and the ideas keep on coming.

-- Cody Sigel Combs , Future Editor

The Big Story

The AI safety dance at Bletchley Park

In brief | You’d be forgiven if you thought, based on several photos, that the AI Safety Summit was a red carpet event. World leaders, business titans and tech experts made sure to be seen shaking hands and smiling for the cameras in front of the summit’s logo.

The event, organised by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak against the backdrop of the worsening crisis in Gaza, initially received some criticism for being style over substance and out of step with world events.

Despite the scepticism, it proved to be an event for the collective concerns and aspirations revolving around AI, the latest in a long list of events where the topic continues to dominate.

Elon Musk showed up, King Charles gave a speech via video and US Vice President Kamala Harris also joined the summit with at least 27 countries represented.

Mr Musk didn’t mince words. The billionaire said that if not regulated properly, AI could spell the end of humanity.

Mr Sunak echoed those sentiments but acknowledged the need to prepare, instead of scare, the general public.

The location of the summit, Bletchley Park, was no accident. Eighty years ago it was the centre of Allied code-breaking activities during the Second World War.

Will this summit crack the code and find a balance between the worries and hopes for AI? It's too soon to tell, but there's reason for optimism.

Despite the different global approaches to possible AI regulation, some agreement was reached in the form of a Bletchley Declaration, signed by 28 countries, which endorsed proposals to address potential catastrophic harms, either deliberate or unintentional, from the AI industry.

Why it matters | It’s often easy to dismiss technology concerns as just a flash in the pan, but this AI Safety Summit, along with other events in recent months, shows that there is sustained momentum to try to get the most out of artificial intelligence, while at the same time preserving personal data, jobs and even international security.

The stage is now set for countries wishing to introduce policies to protect and prosper in this AI age. The task now is figuring out how everyone can share knowledge and get on the same page for substantial strategies.

Quoted | “In the most unlikely but extreme cases, there’s the risk that humanity could lose control of AI completely … however uncertain and unlikely these AI risks are, if they did manifest themselves, the consequences would be incredibly serious. With so many of the biggest developers of these technologies themselves warning of these risks, leaders have a responsibility to take them seriously and to act” – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Future in focus

What Joe Biden wants from AI | The US President issued the country’s first regulations concerning artificial intelligence by way of an executive order. Here’s what that means for the US and potentially the world

Traditional accents might decline in the future | A computer algorithm was employed to listen to the pronunciation of vowels, categorising the speech patterns into distinct accents, and the results indicate that increased mobility and universal education may be fostering a major linguistic transformation in the years ahead

A GCC travel game changer | “We could be about to see another major change in how the Gulf engages with the world. It may just be that a pan-GCC visa is an idea whose time has come,” writes Declan McVeigh

Is LinkedIn the future of social media? | The work-based social media network has surpassed one billion members and is introducing new AI-driven features

Predicting the future: Signal or noise?

It wasn’t noticed by many, but Apple chose to quietly discontinue a product it once thought was the future of computer interfaces. During the company’s most recent product announcement where new MacBook models were introduced, some noticed that the once heavily promoted Touch Bar was gone. Introduced in 2016, the Touch Bar gave an iPhone-like interface near the top of the keyboard on Apple’s laptops. The screen allowed users to do everything from selecting emojis to quickly editing video. Many thought it was the beginning of the end of the keyboard. That didn’t pan out exactly. The Touch Bar wasn’t popular with users, and developers failed to utilise it. Some say its death means that keyboards are here to stay and that touch technology has plateaued.

This is noise. The problem with the Touch Bar wasn’t the idea, it was the implementation. Users still had the option of using either the keyboard, mouse or Touch Bar with the older MacBooks and the placement of the Touch Bar wasn’t exactly convenient for many who already had their hands on the keyboard or mouse. As is often the case with new technologies, it was ahead of its time and the implementation was less than stellar. Since the Touch Bar’s introduction and demise, augmented reality, projection devices and touchscreen technology have advanced by leaps and bounds. Sure, mechanical keyboards will never go away completely, but they’re going to be significantly less relevant despite the death of Apple’s Touch Bar.

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